NBC's Today app pulled from the Windows Phone Store

And another one bites the dust. NBC's Today app has been pulled from the Windows Phone store after not having been updated in almost a year.

The Today app originally launched on Windows Phone back in 2013, and served up news from the Today Show in case you weren't able to catch it in the morning. The app also included push notifications for breaking news, as well as Live Tile support and a way to share news stories to your social feeds. However, the app hadn't seen an update since the end of April 2014, and, according to some user reviews, the app was serving up months-old news stories since at least December of last year.

The Today app joins some other recent departures from the Windows Phone store such as apps from GEICO, Chase bank, and the MLB.

NBC's Today app pulled from the Windows Phone Store

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I never used the NBC app so I would not have missed it. i use the CNN and microsoft news app most for checking out the news. I am not worried about the future of Windows smart phones because microsoft sells enough of them world wide to continue making them. I think there are too many Winows smat phone models in the market place and think t would be wise now for Microsoft to make fewer of them. I think there are enough economy Microosft brand Windows smart phones in the market place.- now Microosft- we need 1980 HD screen resolution Microsoft brand smart phones to replace the Nokia lumia 822, 920, 925, 928, 930/icon, 1020 and a microsoft brand replacement for the big guy Nokia lumia 1520. that's 7 new microsoft brand smart phones to be added to the current Microsft brand low end smart phones out there, this number could be even lower if MS just replaces the nokia lumia 822, 930, 1020 and 1520, give the 822 a 720 screen, and sell the same model on all carriers, make sure the 920 and 1020 Microsoft brand smart phones get 1080- 5 inch HD screens with the 920 replacement getting a higer mega pixel camera. sell the same models on all carriers. the Microsoft brand 1520 could get 2 gigs of ram, add an micro sd card slot if it does not already have one and a 41 pixel camera and make it avaliable to all cariers to save money. No more exclusive carer phones to save manufcturing costs. that means Microsoft's smart phone Boss mr Elop would only order 4 new high level microsoft brand smart phones to be made. a 5th could be added with a 2K resolution 5 inch screen with 2 giigs of ram and the 1020's 41 megapixel camera call it the Windows "MAX" smart phone again sold on all carriers. the New "Windows Apps" AKA universal apps will help Windows smart phones stay alive because a developer can right one app and it will work on a windows touch screen tablet or Touch screen all in one desktop and any windows smart phone with very little modifcations

Am I missing something...didnt even know there was a separate Today show app as the NBC News app has sections for all their news shows including Dateline and the Today show which can all be independently pinned to the start screen with live tiles...which is what I have. If there was an independent app perhaps they are just eliminating duplicative work which makes sense. Hopefully that is the case and not more evidence of app drain....

The App has only 81 Reviews. Thats nothing. But its not good for the WP Economy System.

i know other US Apps that are no longer available: Bank of America and American Airlines. But on the Other side you need to say that other Company (Mostly from Europe) has Released Apps for Windows Phone.

i think the WP Store is on a Good way but all Windows Phone users must have patience.

Never mind these trivial apps being pulled it's the major ones that count.Here in the UK Sky TV do not develop any of their excellent functionality rich apps for WP.BBC apps are limited.
Things that irritate are:
Hearing or reading"download our app".....knowing full well it won't be available for WP.
If available an app will be late, a poor cousin of ios/Android and be updated once in a blue moon.
Hearing major apps being pulled.MLB at Bat,that as a Brit baseball fan has really pissed me off,especially as I'd just renewed my premium subscription.
The end of the road for me would be Barclays bank ending support,if that occurred I'd be off to ios.I've just come back from Norway,I'd assumed there would be more Lumia devices ,I didn't see a single one.Everyone had Iphones.

I am not sure that the fan base for the today show is so die hard that they need an app to catch what they missed. Most watch it in the morning and I cant see to many people saying "OMG I missed the Today Show, I better get on my phone and see what happened". The app doesn't even get a ton of use on platforms with millions upon millions of users.

Act like it's not a big deal if you want to but there is no way I can recommend windows phone to anybody but a Microsoft fan. Most US banking apps are non existent and now the most basic of apps are leaving.

@Dan Thorp Lancaster, I just finished a contract job with NBC on the today show website and worked with the app team for a bit. I'm fairly sure the app was pulled as they are working on a new generation of apps for all the platforms. They are basically starting from scratch with a whole different look. I guess they must be getting close, so they are pulling the old broken one off. The TODAY show website is also getting a major update soon as well.

This isn't a big deal at all. The Today Show is part of NBC News and they integrate most if not all of what's available in the NBC Today app. I use the NBC News app daily, never the NBC Today Show one, but I see Today Show clips and read their articles regularly. Don't think this is the same as the others that have been pulled. This is more likely realizing the two apps are redundant and keeping the more encompassing one.

Sorry guys, although I personally won't be switching from Windows Phone, I have finally admitted defeat on getting others (family, friends, coworkers) to joining Windows Phone. I don't think I can be taken seriously anymore if I were to recommend a platform that has major apps disappearing rather than being added. I'm not sure what's going on, I'm not sure how and what Microsoft plans to handle this, but this is getting quite ridiculous. It is the saddest thing too, the OS is such a beautiful experience sans the app issue.

USA usage UP to 4.8%. Europe over 10%. WP is growing. Eventually companies will notice although ironically all these IE/Spartan User Agents saying Android will not shout out the growing success of the platform.

What a great eye opener this situation is for US WP users. Microsoft is huge in popularity but certainly not in US, their own home turf. The apps just keep on coming in without major departure where I live in.

I am starting to get sick of apps for websites. Give me a good website any day that works universally. Some sites require an app for security or functions, but most don't.
WinCentral is one that makes an awesome app that makes the experience better, but you and your audience are primarily enthusiasts, so that makes sense.

7. Apps are for suckers. Browsers do everything anyhow. Put your phone down and live teh life.

I gave up this week after two consecutive WP devices. Hello Galaxy S6 Edge. It is astonishing how many good apps there are, no more pinning web pages and zooming text, no more work arounds, no more off-name brand apps like snopchot and instagrim. Not only are the apps better, but they are making high end hardware instead of 500 versions of the same 3 crappy phones.

I won't be surprised to see the Windows phone business killed off in the next 12 months. It is sad. If they turn it around I will come back, but this device is a convenience to me that I pay for, it is not a relgion, club or cult and I have no obligation to WP or to rally the troops or prostelytyze much as the hive mind here would like there to be

I wouldn't doubt if, behind the scenes, Microsoft CEO Nadella is working to find a diplomatic, face saving way to wind down or sell off their phone hardware division.

Microsoft would still likely offer W10 to any OEM that wants to use it on a phone, but once Microsoft stops making and pushing Lumia devices, Windows on phones will be as niche as Tizen and Firefox OS.

As it is, Microsoft's current pace to get Windows 10 for phones out there seems positively liesurely, as if they were playing out a clock only they were privy to.

Weren't NBC the ones that had so far not been able to reach a deal with Apple to be on Apple tv? Tomorrow we will see that they magically reached a deal with them, it was probably a demand by Apple. I keep saying it but the bank apps all started leaving after the announcement if Apple pay. Now you have a network pulling an app that will probably end up streaming the shows on Apple tv. Timing of all this is too good to be a coincidence.

Android isn't popular because it is good. It's popular because it's cheap. Had Windows Phone not been late to the game, Android would be where Windows Phone is now. Or at least the market would be more balanced. Microsoft I not going to adopt Android as their platform. They have their own rather badass platform, particularly with Windows 10.

I'm seriously clinging to the notion that W10 will buck the trend.
I hope they market it properly too. The UK adds tend to be bland as hell. With one exception, the most recent Surface add was great. Had some bugged out Korean pop soundtrack too. It is the only MS advert my girlfriend and kids have ever noticed.
The 930 one, was just dire. Something about productivity. Some boring people talking at us. They were bland beyond belief. Reminded me of Nick Grimshaw's Vodafone ads. His end line in those was so miserable, they could have had a more enthusiastic response from one of the victims in a Saw film.
Some enthusiasm and the top 50 apps is what is required. I don't use Instagram, but on there site it only has Apple and Android.... C'mon, that is what needs fixing. My family use Instagram, Viber, Snap chat etc, and their Windows versions need to exist and be on par. 10 thousand torch/fart/tat apps are not needed for the platform to take off.

Don't care. NBC was a no go from the beginning. Don't watch any thing from that network nor read. So it may suck for some of you.....you'll get over it and move on.
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Why show concern for an app who's network didn't think you mattered enough to even update?
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Good-bye NBC. You won't be particularly missed.

I had this argument the other day at work when a know it all ask me what my phone could do that his couldn't he shit when I quoted windows 10, being able to play Xbox games on my phone or any windows device, Cortana and all she could do, live information on my screen in real time, linger battery, better camera, faster, cheaper, and big windows in my pocket. He was speechless and put back on his headphones. Btw he had an iphone

We should most definitely care when big name apps abandon Windows Phone. If it wasn't getting updated for a year it means nobody was probably using it, if nobody was using it then the platform might not be worth developing for. Microsoft has to pay many developers to make apps, it shouldn't be this way, and it can't go on being this way. How many years will Microsoft prop up this platform before they throw in the towel?

Lol, when did this app become a major app. I can't remember the last time someone said they were leaving a platform or not considering the platform because The Today Show app isn't available. GTFOH, lmao. This is not Pandora or Instagram.

People don't look at that stuff because it's not core, mainstream apps closing down. Did Chase Bank close their app on Android? You can't possibly think that apps being pulled on Android/iOS holds the same weight as apps being pulled from wp?

It's not a case of missed by someone or not it's a case that this is a negative story adding to a whole series of negative stories. You say you don't care. If I was a developer looking at all these apps being pulled, i wouldn't want to start developing an app for the platform.

And what incentive do Android or Apple users have to use the Windows Phone? What can the Windows Phone really do that they can't do or that their customers demand them to do?
Caught in a vicious cycle here, apps aren't there because the install base isn't there, install base isn't there because apps aren't there.
The attention and the updates Windows is getting with 10 should've happened two years ago. Microsoft's efforts have been poor, Windows Phone was propped up and given relevance (at that time) by Nokia. Now all we seem to get is entry level phones which look the same as the iteration which came before.
There has been no capitalisation on their truly unique phone the 1020. I went into a shop today and it was still priced quite highly. It needs a follow to get people talking about Windows Phone again.
They need to do something no one is doing, but they have tried and failed to catch up ever since the platform was launched.
They need to really push and throw resources towards this operating system, all these years down the line the potential is still mostly untapped.

Do people assume that other platforms never have abandoned apps or apps removed from the store? I'm sure it happens. Also for those that are complaining on here did you even support this app by using it? The sky is not falling, not all apps are going to be popular and justify the cost of maintaining it. Support the important apps through purchase and use. I really think the editors need to rethink publishing a story for every app that fails, especially when it's reported it was broken for over 3 months already and nobody noticed.

The only one of these apps that I used that has been pulled is MLB at Bat, who is really disappointed about this one? I can understand the banks, by I've used my banks mobile app since '08 and its only got better.

You sir deserve a medal. WINDOWS PHONE CENTRAL feels the need to HIGHLIGHT every app that is removed from Windows Store even when the App was crap to begin with, like its some great loss.
Secondly, people who whine about loosing the app, do they even purchase said app or regularly use said app? I know I use the hell out of my Amazon and eBay app (Phone and Tablet).
So, stop talking about downloading an app and instead support the apps via purchase and/or continued use.

Mission...right on! I went to a Verizon store and as she stated Windows phone was a great starter phone and many customers would return them for Android and iPhones. I don't understand either. The UI on Windows phone I think is way better than the other OS's. Like you said people bash the platform without even ever using it.

Jesus H Christ. If people would just try damn Windows Phone we would get more users and the apps would follow. Im tired of hearing people who have never touched one, bash them. I cannot see how in all hell you can use iOS and Android and think the OS is better. Im baffled.

I know opinions very, but just seems like there is so much more and to WP than the other to flavors.

I've used WP. I like the Live Tiles and efficiency of the OS. But where are the apps? Actually, I wouldn't much care for most apps. I do care for the Music Player, particularly XBM. Microsoft hasn't done much with that app in the years it's been out. Doesn't really give me hope they ever will, especially since once again they're starting from scratch. As a paid XBM I'm pretty dissapointed.This Galaxy Music player app is arguably the most functional music app I've ever used...Smart Volume, equalizer, 3D effects, Bass effects, concert, etc etc. If only it allowed DRM protected music it would be perfect for me. But alas, there is no such thing.

I went to an iPhone partly because of XBM. With Airplay, I can bypass that DRM bullsh*t and push it to external speakers in the house. Sad that I can use iOS to get more functionality than WP can provide.

Only thing you can do with WP is bluetooth it and suffer the sh*tty bandwidth and range of a receiver.

Interesting, I've had several Windows Phones, gave them their shot. Now I have an iPhone. What, pray tell, does WP have to get me back? Cortana? It looks like I'll be getting that too anyway. I lose a hell of a lot more than I gain (still not sure what I would even gain) by going back to WP.

Seriously, I have an iPhone 6 and still have my former HTC One for Windows sitting here. What exactly is there on WP to make me swap the SIM cards?

Cortana will be severely limited in iOS. Offline navigation is another plus for WP. Also bench able to purchase a device that fits my style and not everyone else's. Besides that, pretty much all devices are the same. Dies iPhone have Miracast? I know they finally added NFC. Are you asked to diagnosis download movies and music directly to the phone from a website yet it do you still have to pay iTunes or transfer from a computer?

Cortana limitation is speculation, we don't know anything yet about its implementation. HERE is on iOS and it offers free offline maps as well. The iPhone 6 fits my style just fine, it's paper thin and feather light. I don't really care what everyone else is using. If I just wanted to be different, as I said, I have a M8 for Windows sitting here on my desk. Being different isn't enough, it has to get the job done and WP falls short of that.

iPhone doesn't use Miracast, it uses Airplay. Miracast was a response to Apple's Airplay. You just need an Airplay receiver, either an Airport Express or an Apple TV. Either one is $100. The Express is audio only but also gives the added benefit of being a WiFi extender/access point to your existing network. The Apple TV will relay both audio and video along with all the other built in apps. On Windows PC's, when you crank up iTunes and it sees either one you get a new button to throw your media output from iTunes. This has all been around long before Miracast. Just about every major TV channel has an iOS app. If I want to watch something, through the app say a movie, TV episode, whatever... I can throw it straight from the phone to the TV.

Yea, I use iTunes, it's free. Can I get movies directly on to my phone? If I buy it from the Apple store it'll go directly to my phone, no computer needed. Same with anything else I buy from the Apple store. No different from Xbox Video or Music and WP. If I do want something on my phone from my computer, I don't have to hook it up either, I can WiFi sync it.

Cortana will be limited because Apple will never grant any one full access to ios. Miracast works on my tv and bluray player without any need for additional purchases. I believe you misunderstood my question about movies. If I want a movie which is not available on iTunes or Xbox Video, Amazon etc. because it hasn't been released yet, say via RLSBB, can you simply download it from the site? On Android and WP, even Winmo, you can simply download it via the browser. Thing is I see the iPhone as a simple app launcher and nothing more. There are no standout features in an iPhone, just apps. While WP may have been late to the party it has always been the iPhone which has trailed in actual functionality.

You don't know that Cortana will be limited, that's speculation. We don't know until it's released. If you want to continue on this track, I'm going to start demanding lottery numbers. Y'all still claim WP is the only one which could have offline maps. It isn't. We'll wait and see how integrated Apple lets Cortana get.

My Airplay works everywhere I go. I throw the little block in my suitcase and I can bypass the crap TV channels in any hotel. It works on all my TV's new and old and in hotels across the country who have never heard of Miracast. It also bypasses MS Xbox Music DRM crap. It lets me stream Xbox Music across my Sonos system which WP is unable to do.

What site are you downloading movies from? What makes it different than Amazon, iTunes, Xbox Video, etc? Can I watch movies through the browser you mean? You're going to have to be specific. Everyone who sells movies makes an iOS app. I've never needed to use the browser for it.

My iPhone opens my garage doors, my WP doesn't. My iPhone runs my thermostats, my WP doesn't. I would have to buy specifically compatible thermostats and garage door openers to make it work with WP. I didn't have to buy anything. Everyone already had an iOS app ready to go. My iPhone is compatible with my car, my WP isn't. You talk about functionality? Here's functionality: Every third party makes sure their stuff works with iOS and Android. When iOS or Android update, everyone is Johnny-on-the-spot with updates. When WP makes an update, you're waiting months to a year for an update before a broken app starts working again. I don't have to go digging for good ear buds with inline controls compatible with iPhone. They're at the top of the Google search. You have any idea how long I had to dig and look to find a premium pair compatible with a WP?

The only thing I don't have on an iPhone is a file system or file management. You know what else? I don't need it. On the rare occurrences I need to deal with files, I have an SP3 ready to be hot-spotted and it can deal with the files far better than WP, iOS, or Android.

WP is ahead? Thanks, that was a good laugh. Christ, call block isn't even native WP. OEM's have to add it. This year's almighty WP flagship the HTC One M8 doesn't even have f'n call blocking.

More specific? Can you download movies or torrent directly to your iPhone, unzip, compile and then watch them? As an example can you download Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (not the trailer) directly from the browser since it won't be available on iTunes any time soon. As far as the rest of your post you don't seem to understand the difference been an app and actual OS functionality, which is what I am referring to. Apple adopts certain functions later than others(copy & paste, NFC, voice integration, DLNA, GPS), those are functions of the OS. As far as headphones compatibility it took me a few seconds. I honestly think you are the perfect victim for the iPhone pitch. And btw, all WP devices have call blocking. It's really easy, just hold the number down, imagine that.

All 5 ChromeOS users are excited. Meanwhile I can run 6 million apps on my tablet, but somehow that means that it is a colossal failure and Microsoft should just shut down all operations and let Linux/OSX take over.

While that might hold a lot of truth we can't allow to dismiss this situation... This is one less app Windows has, and that's the problem...
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It's not about this particular app, it's about the situation as a whole, and right now the app issue is seriously holding the platform back..
Every article about any app that's no longer supported is bad news, and we need to see it as such.... Making up excuses, and justifying reasons, doesn't help in any way.... Not to say that it's time, or ever time, to panic at all, but to downplay the situation is wrong...

Funny about "prejudices". I too cannot stand Google and Apple. As a company, I despise Google the most, but I can't stand to be identified with a self-important group of people like Apple users. I have been called out before for making generalizations...so yes, I'm making a generalization. Apple people are generally the most irritating group of device users. To be honest though.. I have tried out an Apple iPhone for 6 months and disliked everything about the experience...luckily it fell apart about the time Nokia went to Windows 7. I use my Android tablet only as a means to give me in apps that Windows cannot currently support.

No, wrong... This is not Android, or iOS, loosing an app.... WP hasn't yet come to the point of us being able to say "Oh well"....
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Right now, while the app situation is critical, every pulled app is a big loss.. I'm sure this is the mentality MS has... Or they better have.

Are you a kid❓ Seriously, why would you ask another man something like that on a comment section.....
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NO, now either ignore it, or whatever. But, don't bother me with anymore emotional issues... Keep it technical.

You must lead a very boring life if you have decided that the removal of a "news" app (really just a entertainment show with two annoying as hell, over-the-hill rejects from other entertainment shows who sit around and drink wine at 8AM) makes you want to switch your phone to another platform where the entire goal of that platform is to gather as much data about you as possible and use it to exploit you.